Platinum is a company that really does prefer quality over quantity. At least when they aren’t making Ninja kobe, kasa games, but they always make the most amazing games out there. From the stylistic Madworld to the fast-paced Metal Gear Rising to their magnum opus, Bayonetta. They really try their best when making games. And let’s face it, they’re really the only good third party games produced kwa Sega. So, today, on the May Xbox Gold, I was able to get two games. Streets of Rage Vintage Collection and, of course, a glorious Platinum game, kwa the title of Vanquish, and of all the games that Platinum has made, Vanquish is one that I think is their most underrated. Maybe zaidi so than Madworld. But let’s see if that is true.



~Story~

The Story of Vanquish is…….. Bad. It’s so bad. Russia attacks America and there is space marines and something about “No, this is the real villain” and Steven Blum is there and something about a professor and an ending that makes absolutely no sense and just kinda stops with no real ending in sight and jus- It’s a terribly written story. It’s really bad. So the story is that, in the future, a rebel group has overthrown the Russian government and has taken over the country. They want to gain power and, with the help of the United States president, they are able to use a sort of microwave cannon… thing to destroy all of San Francisco, killing thousands and wiping the city out. However, the president ends up throwing the group under the bus and as a result, the group decide to go to war, and threaten that they will do the same to New York City if the president does not step down. So, wewe play as Sam Gideon, a member of the team, DARPA, and is brought in to help the space marines, lead kwa Col. Robert Burns, who is voiced kwa the legendary man himself, Steve Blum, to fight off the Russian army of robots in space. And then something about a hostage and “No, it was me” and an ending that just screams sequel and- Oh, it sucks so bad. Platinum, just stick to really simple stories like wewe did with Bayonetta. Making a plot is not your strong suit unless Kojima is tagging along. Thankfully, the gameplay is what matters here, not the story.



~Gameplay~

For a shooter in a siku and age where modern war shooters were starting to become a thing that soon no one would want, Vanquish manages to look impressive. Hey, if I’m going to look at ugly grey environments, I at least want it to look beautiful. If I’m gonna stare at a turd, I want it to be a sparkling piece of shit. But I digress, this game is nowhere near shit. This game is amazing, and not just visually. The game is less of a shooter and zaidi of a 3D bullet-hell game. wewe know those kinds of games, right? Games like Ikaruga and Touhou, where a million bullets are flying at wewe and wewe have to dodge them while continuously firing at your enemy. That’s what Vanquish is. A fast paced game where wewe cannot just hide behind cover and expect to win. This isn’t Kane and Lynch 2. In Vanquish, it’s fly au die. And wewe will in fact die… Again… and again. And many many times. This is a pretty hard game. Even on normal difficulty, I still had some trouble trying to stay alive. But never was the fault of cheap enemy placement au bad design. Most of the time, I just got careless and rushed out to fight, only to get killed because I didn’t prepare myself. wewe have to know what the enemies can do and what wewe can do to dodge the attacks coming your way. And thankfully, wewe have an amazing sense of movement in this game.



If Vanquish was a basic shooter, like say just Gears of War, very simplistic in gameplay, I would still upendo it if the same sense of speed was there. Vanquish is a very fast-paced game. wewe will be moving nonstop in this game. And thanks to the suit that Sam wears, wewe can expect to stay moving… as long as wewe don’t run out of energy. The suit that Sam wears is covered in several rocket things au something that Platinum says to make things look cooler. No matter what position wewe are in, no matter what direction wewe are going in, wewe can always expect to be moving fast. And I mean really fast. Aside from doing just a basic roll to dodge bullets, Sam can songesha much faster with the rockets and act as a means to both dodge enemy fire, avoid huge attacks from larger enemies, and get behind them to get easier attacks in. wewe can also do something that is way baridi than anything else. If wewe dodge and immediately aim, au jump from cover and immediately aim, wewe will be thrown into a slow-down time thingy which allows wewe to unload onto enemies for a short period of time. wewe can stop whenever, but it helps to get the most out of it. Be careful though, because this energy for slowdown is also your boost energy, and your boost energy is also your shield that keeps wewe from dying. In Vanquish, wewe really gotta decide what wewe wanna use your energy on. Do wewe wanna get to the back of enemies, do wewe wanna use the slowdown to hit a bosses weak point, au do wewe just want to use the shield to get out there and get some hits in. It really makes wewe rely on planning out fights more. And trust me, it is not as complicated as it seems. It actually helps a ton.



Another thing that this game has going for it are the variety of weapons. From the short ranged but devastating shotgun, the brutal heavy machine gun, the low capacity but powerful sniper rifle, that really, really shitty kombora, yamuua gun that is just a huge waste of inventory space, and the rocket launcher which, who can say no to that, and of course, the classic assault bunduki also helps. All of these weapons are really useful and help wewe a ton in the game (Except the kombora, yamuua gun). While wewe may choose some over others, there is always a time and a place where wewe may end up using all weapons. wewe may use the shotgun to attack enemies that are behind cover, au use the sniper bunduki to hit enemies from afar and help your team, use the heavy machine gun to mow threw enemies, toss the kombora, yamuua gun off the railing because it sucks so bad, au use the rocket launcher to get some real good damage in on larger, zaidi powerful enemies. Whatever it is, these weapons always have a use to them. But what the game has in gun variety and gameplay variety, it sadly lacks in boss variety. There are some cool bosses here, sure. There is one point where the entire level is just a boss and that is cool, but most of the time, the boss is the same giant robot that once wewe kill it turns into another giant robot. It’s cool the first time, but kwa the third time, it just gets old. And fighting two at once doesn’t help, no matter how many cool sequences there are. The final boss is cool, but I shouldn’t expect anything less from a Platinum final boss. In fact, if it wasn’t cool, I’d be talking about it way more. And it’s made better kwa a boost in Sam’s power. Don’t worry, you’ll find out what I mean real soon if wewe play the game, because Vanquish is a very short game. I mean four hours short. Maybe less. However, unlike Kane and Lynch 2, I had fun. I found variety in my weapons, the enemy AI was good, the visuals were great, the camera didn’t make me sick, and cover actually worked. Yeah, in a game where hiding behind cover isn’t the only solution to your problems. What I’m saying is Vanquish did better with a smaller budget and wewe should buy this instead.



~Legacy~

Despite falling behind in sales as of recently, Vanquish was able to do pretty well, if for just a few weeks before falling into obscurity. Despite the fact, the game was able to earn a few awards in 2011, even getting a few Game of the mwaka awards, so that’s something Vanquish and Platinum can gloat about. There is also a few figures of Sam Gideon and the main villain of the game, Bogey. They are really expensive and despite costing over $60, they fall apart easy. You’re basically paying a ton for bad material. That’s capitalism for you.

~Verdict~

Vanquish is what you’d expect from a Platinum game. It is a game that puts quality over quantity. While there is not a ton here that may keep wewe around, and while this game is lacking in bosses and a uandishi team, the gameplay will keep wewe invested. I can’t tell wewe how often I beat the game, telling myself, “That story was awful”, and was immediately followed kwa pressing New Game. If wewe want one of the most fast paced action experiences of hivi karibuni years, then I recommend giving Vanquish a look. With that said, I give Vanquish the ranking of an Excavation Worthy. See wewe all inayofuata time.